Elizabeth B. Tisdahl (born April 27, 1946) is the former mayor of
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
. She was Evanston's third female mayor and second Democratic mayor.
Background
Tisdahl has held many civic posts throughout her almost four decades of living in Evanston. She helped to found the Mothers Against Gangs School Liaison in 1987 and served on the Evanston Community Foundation Advisory Committee from 1987 to 1995. She spent twelve years on the
Evanston Township High School Board of Education beginning in 1989, serving two of those years as the President of that organization.
She then became the alderman of Evanston's 7th Ward,
an
Evanston City Council position she held from 2003 until her election as mayor in 2009.
She attended
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...
but did not graduate, according to a 2008 interview.
She worked as an investment analyst.
She and her family live in Evanston. She has five grandchildren; two are living in Evanston, both of whom attended Evanston Public Schools.
Awards and honors
Tisdahl has been recognized by the
US Conference of Mayors
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded i ...
for her environmental work and concern about sustainability. She also won the Democratic Party of Evanston Community Service Award in 2002.
Among Mayor Tisdahl's local honors are the Park School Certificate of Recognition (1992), the Fleetwood Jourdain Community Center Salute to Women in Human Services Appreciation Award (1999), and the Chessmen Club Community Service Award (2002).
Campaign for mayor
Tisdahl's 2009 mayoral campaign was based on three major platforms "Diversity, Sustainability, and Economic Development", which have remained her top priorities while in office. She won in a four-candidate election.
Administration
Since she became mayor, Tisdahl has simultaneously come under criticism and received praise for cracking down on alcohol consumption while loosening the penalties for drug use within Evanston city limits. Her decision to close The Keg of Evanston, a bar popular with the
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.
Charte ...
student population, drew the ire of many students and worsened town-gown tensions in Evanston. The bar was repeatedly cited for underage drinking and noise violations and had been the site of a shooting in 2005.
She has faced further criticism from the Northwestern community for the proposed enforcement of a city ordinance called variously the "three-unrelated rule" and the "brothel law." The over-occupancy ordinance "prohibits more than three unrelated people from living together in a residential unit," affecting students who are usually unrelated to one another while leaving residential families untouched. Once again, many Evanston residents favor the change while Northwestern students largely see it as a form of discrimination targeted at students.
In her time as mayor, Tisdahl has also initiated a series of anti-crime (specifically anti-gang) programs like a gun buyback initiative in an attempt to curb rising rates of violent crime.
Tisdahl announced in 2016 that she would not seek a third term as mayor, and in 2017 endorsed businessman
Steve Hagerty to succeed her. Hagerty, who was also endorsed by Tisdahl's predecessor
Lorraine H. Morton
Lorraine Hairston Morton (December 8, 1918 – September 8, 2018) was an American politician who was the mayor of Evanston, Illinois, from 1993 to 2009. , narrowly won the general election and replaced Tisdahl as mayor on May 8.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tisdahl, Elizabeth
1946 births
Living people
Illinois Democrats
Mayors of Evanston, Illinois
Women mayors of places in Illinois
Bryn Mawr College alumni
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Illinois city council members
Women city councillors in Illinois